"I actually still have a bit of stage fright," Dan Kirouac, singer, guitarist, pianist and drummer, says. But you wouldn't know this when you see him play live. And the singer has been performing cover songs and original pieces "semi-professionally" for about 22 years. 

Kirouac started playing drums at age 13, "thanks to mom and dad for the lessons and the volume tolerance." In high school, he also sang in the band and did variety shows. And of course the guitar came along when he wanted to sing his own tunes, and cover songs by himself.

Kirouac, who says he can also blow a mean harp on a few tunes, usually sings and strums the guitar as a solo artist around town, but he is the drummer for the band Strongbatch, as well as a part-time member of the band Beatles for Sale, and formerly played with Yellow Submarine. "The Beatles were the on-ramp for me," Kirouac says. "Music keeps me young." Re-creating songs of his favorite artists, and being able to share the thrill with audiences, is also a draw to the stage. He admits that he has many "guilty pleasure" songs that he plays, and the audiences enjoy them as much as he does.

While Kirouac may be slightly self-conscious about his original work, he plans on recording more songs in the future to share with loyal listeners. But, for now, he'll continue playing some of our favorite tunes for us to sing along to. o

— Katie Moran